Alexis: I have always loved writing
and especially drawing my own stories. Of all the things I've ever
done it is what has made me the happiest. I tried very hard to learn to
do it well so that I might one day be able to do it for a living.

IIham: When did
you write your first book?

A: I believe I wrote my first
picturebook story when I was about four or five... but no-one
published that one! My first published story was 'Slow Loris' and I
wrote that in the year 2000.

Aman: Is it interesting being an
author?

A: I think it is! On the other hand,
if you have an active mind and a strong imagination you might find
ten years living in a shoebox interesting!

Sian: How many stories have you
written?

A: I have written seven published
stories and illustrated lots of others. I have also written and
illustrated many stories that have never been published.

Zoya: What would you be if you weren’t
an author?

A: Well, I do a lot of dancing too so
perhaps I would be a dancer...

Questions about I am Henry Finch

Sameer: Where did you get [the idea
for I am Henry Finch] from?

A: I used to share a house with
someone who had a finch called Henry. Actually it was Viv, who illustrated the story! I was always impressed with
how much brain they could squeeze into such a tiny space! Henry that is, not Viv. Viv has plenty of space for her brain. Although she is quite clever too...

Erich: What kind of animal is the
beast?

A: He's... a beast. Perhaps it would
be better to ask Viv that question! Kind of looks like a giant
Axolotl though, doesn't it?

Zoya: Why didn’t you draw your own pictures in I am Henry Finch
and why did you draw your own pictures in Beegu? What made you
want to do that?

A: Viv is a very good friend of mine. I like writing stories for
her to draw because her pictures make me think of different kinds of
stories to tell. My pictures tend to be better suited to stories
that are a little bit sadder/scarier!

Questions about Beegu

Chloe: How did you think of the book
Beegu?

A: I imagined what it would be like to
be lost in a big strange city. At first the character was a big,
tall bear. That was easier for me to imagine because I'm quite tall.
My publishers pointed out that children reading the story would not
know what that was like. They would be more familiar with the sense
of being small. The story grew (pun intended) from there.

IIham: What origin did Beegu
come from?

A: What planet is that? In my head I
call it Planet Beegu... But obviously that isn't what it would be
called. We don't live on Planet Alexis do we? Or on Planet Ilham
for that matter! Would you like it if we did? I think I'd be
embarrassed if the planet was named after me! It would be waaaay too
much attention. I find my own birthday parties awkward enough.

What do you think Beegu's Planet should
be called?

Rabeeah: Did this [the story of Beegu]
happen to you once?

A: Well I did write it around the time
that I moved back to London, which is a big city like the one in the
story. It was never intended to be about me though. In my mind
Beegu is a living breathing creature. Perhaps it is inevitable that
some of our own experience comes out in the stories we write. I
would, for example, write a terrible book about what it is like to
drive trains. I know nothing about it!